Brenda Gayle Morris Hollis' Obituary
Brenda G. Morris Hollis, 76, entered peacefully into rest on Saturday, January 4, 2020, at her daughter’s home in Saraland, Alabama. Brenda was born to Eldridge Leonard and June Melba (Yarbrough) Morris Sr. on November 10, 1943, in DeRidder, Louisiana.
Visitation will begin Thursday, January 09, 2020, from 5:00 PM until 9:00 PM, Labby Memorial Funeral Home in DeRidder, LA. Funeral services will be held Friday, January 10, 2020, Visitation will start at 12:00 Noon and service will begin at 1:00 PM, Labby Memorial Funeral Home chapel in DeRidder, LA with Rev. Lindsey Burns officiating. Interment will follow at Beauregard Cemetery, DeRidder, LA.
There are many things for which Brenda Hollis will be remembered.
Brenda will be remembered for her quick wit and infectious grin which often went hand in hand. She was a natural athlete and excelled at many sports. As a teen, Brenda’s strength as a swimmer landed her a job as a life-guard at a summer camp where she was credited with saving a little girl who had been swept away in a river current. She was a competent horsewoman who from her childhood enjoyed riding. However, an injury sustained from a fall from her horse as a child began a series of back ailments that plagued her throughout her life. Despite the ever-present pain of her injury, she played on the girls’ “powder-puff” football team and marched in the DeRidder High School Band as a drummer. She had fond memories of climbing trees and digging “fox holes” with her brothers. Her skill as a marble-shooter followed her into adulthood, causing several of her son’s friends to refuse to play marbles with her because she always won. And she played for “keeps”.
The two physical endeavors that she enjoyed most were fishing and golfing. Brenda’s love of fishing was instilled by her father, Eldridge when she was very young. As she grew, so did her skill. She became a charter member of Bass-n-Gal’s fishing association and was at one time ranked the number-one fisherwoman in Louisiana and number 8 in the Nation. Her fishing “career” was eventually sponsored by Mister-twister lures and Hustler Bass Boats.
Most Saturdays in the 1970s and early ‘80s Brenda could be found on the golf course. She enjoyed golfing with her friends, but she most enjoyed playing golf with her husband Delbert. As with marbles, she always won. And Delbert would tell you she played for keeps. Her children remember many occasions when driving back into town from visiting the Hickmans she would stop the car on the side of the highway and, after retrieving her fishing pole from the trunk of the car, climb over a barbed wire fence to fish just for a few minutes in a roadside pond. Having released each fish she caught, she would continue the drive homeward only to stop the car on the edge of the golf-course, where she would retrieve her chipper and putter from the trunk and get in a few minutes of work on her short-game. As recently as April of 2018 she surprised the family when, after coaching her Grandsons in the proper use of a seven-iron, she handed her cane to her son and hit a few golf balls across the road into the neighbor’s yard just to show them how it was done. Naturally, Gamma won.
Yes, Brenda will be remembered for many things. But if asked, she would say that she would like to remembered as a loving, devoted wife and mother. She met the love of her life, Delbert, while attending Hardin-Simmons University in Abeline, Tx. On their first date he invited her to let him teach her how to shoot his new rabbit rifle. Of course, she shot more rabbits than he did. Later she agreed to go along so he could teach her how to fish. Delbert would say that though not every fishing trip was a competition, she always won.
In 1969 the two moved back to Brenda’s home-town of DeRidder where they raised their children and enjoyed 53 years of marriage.
Brenda caught her husband’s zeal for rescuing stray animals. As a result, their home was almost always filled with their beloved menagerie of dogs and cats. The care she lavished on stray animals was indicative of the soft spot in her heart that she had for any human who may have felt disenfranchised, lonely or unloved. Often confined to her bed in her later years, she was known to phone and write to those who she thought needed a friend. Though it would have been much easier for her to pray from the relative comfort of her bed, she was faithful to go weekly to her church to pray for the needs of others.
Athlete, musician, daughter, wife, mother, sister and friend. Brenda will be remembered as all these things and more. Though pain made her life difficult at times, she ran her race well. And now, again, she has won.
Left to cherish her memory are her daughter, Debra James and husband Roger of Saraland, AL; grandchild, Kelli James; son, Scott Hollis and wife Angela of Moss Bluff, LA; grandchildren, John Hollis, Kaitlyn Hollis, Jordan Hollis, Dakota Hollis, Jacob Hollis, Noah Hollis, Haley Hollis, Joshua Hollis; and brothers, Eldridge L. Morris, Jr. of DeRidder, LA, James “Jimmy” Morris and wife Pat of DeRidder, LA.
Preceded in death by her husband, Delbert Hollis; parents, Eldridge Leonard Morris, Sr. and June Melba Morris; and brother, Roger Morris.
Serving, as pallbearers are John Hollis, Jordan Hollis, Dakota Hollis, Jacob Hollis, Noah Hollis, and Joshua Hollis.
What’s your fondest memory of Brenda?
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Share a story where Brenda's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Brenda you’ll never forget.
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